Trolley for electric railways.



Patented Oct. l4, I902. C. E. THOMAS &. J. M. OLINGER.

TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

(Application filed July 21, 1902.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

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N0. 7||,022. Patented Oct. 14, I902.

c. E. THOMAS & .1. m. ounaen.

TRDLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

(Application filed July 21. 1902.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CHARLES E. THOMAS, OF SPRINGFIELD, AND JACOB M. OLINGER, OF VIENNACROSSROADS, OIIIO, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-HALF TO THE THOMAS MANU- FACTURINGCOMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, OI'IIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 711,022, dated October14, 1902.

Application filed July 21,1902. Serial No. 116.320. (No model.)

T 0 whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES E. THOMAS, residing at Springfield, andJACOB M. OLIN- GER, residing at Vienna Crossroads, in the county ofClark and State of Ohio, citizens of the United States, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Trolleys,of which the followingis a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanyingdrawings.

This invention relates to trolleys, and has for its object to provideaconstruction whereby the trolley head or harp which carries thetrolley-wheel may be readily disconnected :5 from or connected with thetrolley-pole, being firmly held against accidental displacement when inposition, so that in case of injury or wearing out of the trolley-wheelor its bearings the entire head may be at once removed and a new headand wheel substituted therefor without loss of time and withoutrequiring the aid of skilled labor or tools of any description.

To these ends our invention consists in certain novel features, which wewill now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in theclaims. 7

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of astructure embodying our invention in one fprm. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional View of the same, taken on the line rt 03 of Fig. l andlooking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a view, partly inelevation and partly in section, upon the line y 5 y of Fig. 1 andlooking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. t is a detail viewillustrating the construction of the slot. Fig. 5 is a central sectionalview of a modified form of the joint connecting the pole and head. Fig.6

is a detail sectional view taken on thelinezz of Fig. 5 and looking inthe direction of the arrows, and Fig. 7 is a detail view of one of themembers of the structure shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Inourpreferredformofconstruction,which is that shown in Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive, -1 indicates the trolley-pole, which is shown, as usual,tubular in form, or an extension thereof, and 2 indicates thetrolley-head as awhole,

having the trolley-wheel 3 mounted therein in any approved manner. Thehead is provided with an extension or socket 4, in which the end of thetrolley-pole tits, as shown more particularly in Fig. 3 the two partsbeing united by a bayoneojoint, which is rendered self-locking by aspring. The preferred form of this construction is that shown in Figs. 1to 4:, in which the slot, which is indicated as a whole by thereference-n umeral 5, is formed in the socket of the trolley-head andcomprises a longitudinally extending portion 6 and a transverse portion7, terminating in a notch or recess 8. In the construction shown thelongitudinal portion of the slot is covered by a guard or shield 9,which may be continued over the whole of the slot, if desired, thelatter thus having the form of a groove. The pole or its extension isprovided with a pin or projection 10, which tits in the groove or slot5, and there is interposed between the trolley head and pole a spring11,which tends to keep the projection 10 seated in the notch or recess8. As a convenient mode of mounting this spring we provide within thetrolleypole 1 an abutment 12, riveted in the hollow interior of the poleand having a stud 13 with a thread out thereon to lit the spiral spring,into the center of the coil of which it is adapted to screw, as shown.The abutment for the other end of the spring is provided bya ring ordiaphragm 14 in the hollow interior of the head.

It will be seen that with the construction described in case of anyinjury to the wheel or head, rendering repair necessary, it is onlynecessary for the attendant to press the head toward the pole, so as tocompress the spring 11 and at the same time turn the head until the pin10 comes opposite the longitudinal part 6 of the slot 5, whereupon thehead may be at once removed, its separation from the pole being assistedby the expansion of the spring. By a reversal of these operations a newhead and wheel may be as readily and as quickly applied to the pole.These operations 5 are readily performed without any tools and byunskilled attendants in a minimum of time, thereby avoiding the delaynow frequently occuring when it becomes necessary to remove thetrolley-wheel or its pivot-pin. 10o

or recess 24.

The spring 11 is made of sufficient strength to resist any ordinary oreven unusual pressure to which the device may be subjected when in use,and in practice we have found that said spring, in connection with thenotch or recess 8, serves to hold the parts firmly locked together undersuch conditions as have come under our observation. In order to provide,however, for an absolute locking of the parts to insure againstaccidental separation, we provide a locking-dog 15, pivoted on theoutside of the socket 4 and having at one end a locking-block 16, whichis adapted to fit between the pin 10 and the outlet of the notch orrecess Sin the manner shown in the drawings, so as to prevent said pinfrom leaving said recess until said locking-block is withdrawn. Thelocking-dog15 is surrounded by a protective flange 15*, which not onlyserves to prevent injury to the dog in case the trolley accidentallyleaves the wire, but also serves to receive the pivot 15, on which thedog is supported. The dog is normally held in looking position by meansof a spring 17 and is provided with a finger-plate 18 at the end thereofopposite to that at which the locking-block is located, by means ofwhich said spring may be readily depressed, so as to raise thelocking-block. In order to permit the ready assemblage of the parts, thelocking-block is provided with a beveled face 19 on that side thereofadjacent to the transverse portion 7 of the slot or groove 5, so that inuniting the parts the pin 10 will strike said incline and raise thelocking-block so as to permit the pin to enter the notch or recess 8,the block being immediately thrown into locking position by the spring17 after the pin has entered the notch or recess.

It is obvious that various modifications in the details of theconstruction just described may be made without departing from theprinciple of our invention. For instance, the bayonet-joint constructionmay be duplicated or the location of the parts thereof reversed, so thatthe groove is formed on the pole or its extension, the projections beingformed on the head. In Figs. 5, 6, and 7 we have shown such aconstruction, in which the pole (indicated at 20) is provided with anextension 21, having a longitudinal groove 22 and two transverse grooves23, each terminating in a notch The trolley-head socket is indicated at25 and is shown as provided with two projections 26 to cooperate withthe parts 22, 23, and 24. A shoulder 27 is formed between the pole 20and its extension 21, and a spring 28 is interposed between saidshoulder and the end of the socket 25, which latter is provided with anannular flange 29, which incloses and protects the spring and may alsoextend over the end of the pole 20, as shown. Again, by a mere reversalthe pole may be made the female member and the head the male member. 7eprefer, however, the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings,as it is one readily applicable to trolleypoles already in use; but wedo not limit ourselves to the precise details of constructionhereinbefore described, and shown in the accompanying drawings.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In atrolley, the combination, with a trolley-pole, of a trolley-headprovided with a trolley-wheel, said pole and head being united by abayonet-joint, the slot or groove whereof is provided with a terminallocking-seat, and a spring interposed between the head and pole to holdthe projection of the bayonetjoint in said locking-seat when the partsare united, substantially as described.

2. In a trolley, the combination, with a trolley-pole, of a trolley-headprovided with a trolley-wheel,said pole and head being united by abayonet-joint, the slot or groove whereof is provided with a terminallocking-seat, a spring interposed between the head and pole to hold theprojection of the bayonet-joint in said locking-seat when the parts areunited, and means for positively locking said projection in said seat,substantially as described.

3. In a trolley, the combination, with a trolley-pole having aprojection, of a trolley-head provided with a trolley-wheel and having asocket extension to receive the end of the trolley-pole, said extensionbeing provided with a bayonet-joint groove or slot terminating in alocking-seat, and a spring inclosed within the pole and socket extensionand abutting against said parts, said spring serving to hold theprojection in the locking-seat when the parts are united, substantiallyas described.

4:. In a trolley, the combination, with a trolley-pole provided with aprojection, of a trolley-head provided with a trolley-wheel, said headhaving a socket extension provided with a bayonet-joint, slot or groovehaving a terminal locking-seat, a spring-actuated locking-dog pivoted onsaid extension and having a locking-block adapted to lock the projectionin the locking-seat, and having a beveled face to yield to saidprojection when it enters said seat, and a spring interposed between thehead and pole and inclosed within the same to hold the projection insaid locking-seat when the parts are united, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

CHARLES E. THOMAS. JACOB M. OLINGER.

Witnesses:

E. O. HAGAN, IRVINE MILLER.

